Curriculum Theory and Development

Objectives

1. To critically analyze texts, documents and phenomena related to curricular issues, considering relevant theoretical frameworks;
2. To express intentions related to the promotion of knowledge by using concepts from the field of Curriculum Theory and Development;
3. To adapt curricular intentions and decisions to specific contexts;
4. To conceive appropriate teaching strategies for accomplishing curricular intentions;
5. To explore ways of assessing students’ learning, by using references, functions, techniques and instruments that allow for their concretization.

Program

1. Notion of curriculum and curriculum development;
2. Curriculum theories and models for Early Childhood Education and Primary Education;
3. Stages in the process of curriculum development;
4. Levels of curriculum decision making, curriculum sources and influences;
5. Specification of what to teach;
6. Content and its organization;
7. Teaching strategies;
8. Student assessment.

Teaching Methodologies

The teaching methodologies will direct the students, under the instructor’s guidance, to the analysis and discussion of official curricular documents. In addition, continuous support to lesson planning will be provided to students. Samples of lesson plans will be discussed. The students’ participation in the above-mentioned learning experiences will be accompanied, as continuously as possible, from a formative assessment perspective.
Summative assessment and final grading will be based on four components: lesson plans, which will be
implemented in short teaching sessions with small groups of children, and subsequent student assessment records (35% of the final grade), analysis of curricular documents (35% of the final grade), participation in discussions on current curricular issues (15% of the final grade), written test(s) or assignment(s) oriented towards the demonstration of mastery of key-concepts (15% of the final grade).

Bibliography

Bobbitt, F. (1918). The curriculum. Cambridge, MA: The Riverside Press.
Gaspar, M. I, & Roldão, M. C. (2007). Elementos do Desenvolvimento Curricular. Lisboa: Universidade Aberta.
Gimeno Sacristán, J. (1994). El curriculum: Una reflexión sobre la práctica (4ª ed.). Madrid: Morata.
Kridel, C. (Ed.) (2010). Encyclopedia of Curriculum Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Law, E. & Nieveen, N. (Eds.) (2010), Schools as curriculum agencies: Asian and European perspectives on schoolbased
curriculum development (pp. 83-98). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Pacheco, J. A. (1996). Currículo: Teoria e práxis. Porto: Porto Editora.
Ribeiro, A. C. (1993). Desenvolvimento Curricular (4ª ed.). Lisboa: Texto Editora.
Sousa, F. , Alonso, L. e Roldão, M. C. (Orgs.) (2013). Investigação para um currículo relevante. Coimbra: Almedina.
Tyler, R. W. (1969). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.